When it was released a few months ago, the Kobo eReader was one of the first e-readers to sell for less than $150. Alas, it wasn't all that great and it was quickly overshadowed when Barnes & Noble introduced its Wi-Fi Nook for $149 and Amazon later followed with an all-new $139 Wi-Fi Kindle. But now Kobo and Borders, which is an investor in Kobo (Kobo powers Borders' e-book store), are set to release a new, improved wireless Kobo eReader this October for $139.99.
On the outside, the new model looks almost identical to the older model, but it has a better screen, a faster processor, and offers longer battery life. While the screen is a definite step up, it doesn't appear that it's E-Ink next-generation Pearl display that's currently featured in the Kindle and new Sony Readers.
Here are the key specs:
- Price: $139.99
- 6-inch screen
- Weighs 7 ounces
- Built in Wi-Fi (802.11g)
- Faster processor makes turning pages over 2.5X times faster
- Sharper E-Ink screen (16-grayscale)
- Longer battery life: up to 10,000 page turns on a single charge (with the wireless setting turned off)
- 1GB of built-in memory stores up 1000 eBooks
- Expansion slot for SD card (store up to 5000 eBooks)
- Built-in dictionary
- Available in three colors (black, silver, and lavender)
- Support for ePub and PDF files
- 100 free classics and Poker game pre-loaded onto device
- Ships at the end of October (available for preorder now).
While we feel bad for anyone who bought the original Kobo (we gave it a very lukewarm review), we're glad to see that Kobo has quickly moved past its initial effort and come out with hardware that appears to match up better with the competition. Like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, Kobo/Borders offers apps for multiple platforms, including the iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones, and PCs, so you can access your digital library on a variety of devices. Recently, Kobo also announced that new applications that will come preloaded on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab and Blackberry PlayBook.
That's all good, but at the same time, the new wireless Kobo eReader doesn't seem to have any clear advantages over the Kindle or Nook, so it faces a challenging market. Of course, we'll reserve final judgment until we get our hands on a review unit in the next few weeks.
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